Adjustment arrangement for circular slitting knives

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for adjusting and aligning one of a set of upper and lower circular cutting blades on a rotatable shaft includes the provision of at least two sets of guide rings having spherical mating surfaces located between the blades and the shaft. One set of rings surrounds the shaft and the other set supports the blades. Sleeves at opposite ends of the other set of rings bear thereagainst and position the blades in place, the sleeves being movable toward one another so as to shift the blades by substantially the same amount along the shaft as the sets of rings shift along their mating spherical surfaces, to thereby assure uniform angularity between the upper and lower blades.

United States Patent Jakob Aug. 19, 1975 ADJUSTMENT ARRANGEMENT FOR2,006,106 6/1935 Markert 83/501 X 2,567,634 9/195] Bosshard 83/4962,637,395 5/1953 Muller 83/504 [75] Inventor: Hans Jakob,Darmstadt-Eberstadt,

Germany [73] Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Goebel, GmbH,

Darmstadt, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 8, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.: 459,174

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 6, 1973 Germany 23l72l5 [52]US. Cl. 83/497; 83/502; 83/665; 83/699 [Sl] lnt. Cl. 4. B26D l/24 [58]Field of Search 83/497, 496, 501, 502, 83/504, 664, 665, 675, 699

I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l 994 l37 3/l935 Leguillon83/502 X Primary I;lraminerFrank T. Yost Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson 5 7 ABSTRACT An arrangement foradjusting and aligning one of a set of upper and lower circular cuttingblades on a rotatable shaft includes the provision of at least two setsof guide rings having spherical mating surfaces located between theblades and the shaft. One set of rings surrounds the shaft and the otherset supports the blades. Sleeves at opposite ends of the other set ofrings bear thereagainst and position the blades in place, the sleevesbeing movable toward one another so as to shift the blades bysubstantially the same amount along the shaft as the sets of rings shiftalong their mating spherical surfaces, to thereby assure uniformangularity between the upper and lower blades.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG-1 91975 n v B 1 ADJUSTMENTARRANGEMENT FOR CIRCULAR SLITTING KNIVES This invention relatesgenerally to an arrangement for the adjustment and alignment of circularslitting knives used in longitudinally cutting webs of paper, foil, andthe like.

Heretofore, upper and lower circular and rotatable cutting blades havebeen provided in engagement with one another for longitudinally cuttingwebs or paper, foil, and the like. The web is thereby cut similarly asby means of scissors, into as many narrow strips as there arecooperating cutting blades spaced along the rotating blade shafts. Inorder to produce a neat cut such upper and lower blades must be disposedat an angle to one another of about to 3.

A German Pat. No. 197,007, dated Mar. 3l, I908, discloses a pair ofspaced rotatable shafts along which are mounted a plurality of spacedand cooperating upper and lower cutting blades. The longitudinal axes ofthe shafts intersect at a slight angle so as to dispose the upper andlower blades thereon likewise at a slight angle to one another. Theshaft axes are normally intersected at their centers, which correspondto the middle of the web that is to be cut into strips. Therefore,whenever several sets of upper and lower circular knives are provided onthe shafts at a distance from the center intersection thereof, theknives are adjusted by different amounts in relation to one another ascompared to the circular knives disposed at the intersection. Thecoverings normally provided for each pair of upper and lower knives musttherefore be different, and the web cut along its center is of a betterquality as compared to the cuts made by the knife pairs spacedtherefrom. This problem becomes particularly more apparent whenever thinor sensitive webs are cut. Moreover, the cutting blade shafts must beshiftably mounted in guides which are expensive to manufacture andcumbersome to assemble and, whenever such guides are in the form ofslots provided in portions of the cutting apparatus frame, the rigidityof such frame is thereby lessened.

The aforementioned German patent likewise discloses the mounting of eachcircular knife on a separate supporting bracket, such bracket having asloping base surface in order to provide an inclination for the circularknife in relation to the longitudinal axis of the shaft on which it issupported. With such an approach, however, each circular cutting blademust be separately mounted which therefore requires additional space.Moreover, the cutting blades can only be disposed at relatively largedistances apart, as a result of which the slitting of the web intonarrow strips is made more difficult.

In accordance with another German Pat. No. 697,108, dated Sept. 5. I940,a circular cutting blade is spring-biassed against its counter knifecooperating therewith. Such a mounting for the cutting blade, however.requires additional space and does not permit the cutting of the narrowweb strips.

Recognizing the drawbacks of the prior art as discussed above. it is anobject of the present invention to provide a simple mounting for aplurality of circular cutting blades which are each aligned along ashaft closely adjacent one another for the purpose of cutting narrowstrips from webs of paper. foil, and the like which may be of the thinor sensitive type. Each upper cutting blade can be adjusted in relationto its lower cutting blade cooperating therewith by the same adjustingangle, or at an angle which is nearly the same for all blades withinlimits sufficient for practical use.

A further object of this invention is to provide such an upper cuttingblade arrangement whereby groups of such knives are supported along arotatable shaft, multi-part guides having spherical mating surfacesbeing disposed between the shaft and the blades so that, upon a shiftingmovement of an outer set of these guides along the shaft axis, theblades are correspondingly shifted in equal amounts into the same angleas they bear against their lower cutting blades.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement ofupper cutting blades wherein the guides are mounted on the shaft forrotation therewith. At least two sets of guides in the form of rings areprovided, an outer set thereof having spherical surfaces of a smallersize as compared to the spherical mating surfaces of the inner set ofrings.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such anarrangement for upper cutting blades wherein sleeve members are providedat opposite ends of the outer set of rings, these sleeves being movabletoward one another'to thereby shift the outer rings and the uppercutting blades a corresponding amount along the longitudinal axis of theupper blade shaft.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. I is a sectional view showing a portion of a web cutting apparatusincluding the features of the present invention, taken along line l] ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. I showing portions of theupper blades and several types of guide rings supporting the blades onthe blade shaft; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through one of the outer guide rings takenalong line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer tolike and corresponding parts throughout the several views, it should benoted that those elements of the web slitting apparatus not essential tothe understanding of the invention are not illustrated for reasons ofclarity. A lower cutting blade shaft I0 is rotatably mounted in a normalmanner in the cutting apparatus frame, a plurality of lower cuttingblades 11 being mounted thereon adjacent one another for either rotationwith shaft 10 or for relative rotation thereto. Circular upper cuttingblades 12 respectively cooperate with lower blades 11 as in the mannershown in FIG. 1. Therefore, a web I3 of paper, foil, or the like is cutinto longitudinal strips 13a, 1311, I30, etc., as the web is movedbetween the cooperating upper and lower blades.

Upper cutting blades 12 are mounted adjacent one another along a bladeshaft 14, which shaft is rotatably mounted within the frame of the webcutting apparatus for rotation by means of some suitable power means(not shown). Guide rings having spherical mating surfaces are disposedbetween shaft 14 and the upper cutting blades for the purpose ofadjusting these upper blades into a uniform angular relationship withrespect to the lower cutting blades. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3,

these guides are in the form of rings having cylindrical innerperipheral surfaces corresponding to the outer cylindrical surface ofshaft 14. The outer peripheral surfaces of each ring 15 are sphericalfor, mating engagement with like inner spherical surfaces of other rings16 surrounding rings 15 and designed to be shifted along the axis ofshaft 14 in relation thereto. Still other rings 17 having cylindricalinner and outer peripheral surfaces surround each ring 16, as mostclearly shown in FIG. 3. A pair of the circular upper cutting blades issupported by each ring 17 by means of annular blade support rings 18.Blades 12 are each mounted on rings 18 in a conventional manner as byclips 19. Each of the upper blades may be supported by rings 15, 16 and17 in a similar manner, although only four of such blades are shownsupported in such manner in FIG. 1.

An alternate embodiment of cooperating guide rings is shown in FIGS. 1and 3 located along shaft 14. Here. rings 21 having spherical innerperipheral surfaces surround their respective rings 15, and directlysupport a pair of support rings 18 of the upper cutting blades. Theouter peripheral surfaces of each ring 21 is, of course, cylindrical tomatch the inner cylindrical surfaces of support rings 18.

In accordance with yet another alternative embodiment of the guiderings, rings 22 having inner cylindrical surfaces surround shaft 14.These rings are identical to rings 15 in that they also have outerspherical surfaces, except that rings 22 are shorter in length ascompared to rings 15. An annular disc 23 having an inner sphericalsurface surrounds each ring 22 and directly supports an upper cuttingblade as clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Pins 24, 25, and 26 are provided for the purpose of mounting the guiderings and discs onto shaft 14 for rotation therewith. Each pin extendsinto a longitudinal groove 27 provided along the length of shaft 14.Openings 28 corresponding to the size and shape of pins 24, 25 and 26extend through rings 15 and 22. Openings 29 elongated in a longitudinaldirection of shaft 14 extend through discs 16 as in the manner clearlyshown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Slots 31 of similar elongated shape are providedin rings 17 and 21 as well as in disc 23. Pin 28 extends through alignedopenings 28, 29 and into slot 31, pin 25 extends through aligned opening28 and slot 31 for the other alternative embodiments using rings 21 anddiscs 23. Accordingly, rings 16 and 17 may be shifted in an axialdirection of shaft 14 as the mating spherical surfaces between rings 15and 16 shift relative to one another. Also, rings 21 and discs 23 arelikewise shifted as their mating spherical surfaces shift relative totheir respective rings 15 and 22.

To effect such axial movement of these outer rings and discs, for thepurpose of aligning or adjusting upper cutting blades 12 in relation tolower cutting blades 11, a cylindrical cross-beam 32 is mounted in placeon the frame of the web slitting apparatus. An arm plate 33 embracesbeam 32 and is mounted in place by means of bolt 34. Cover plates 35 and36 are mounted at the upper and lower ends of arm 33 as in the mannershown in FIG. 2. The plates are provided with bores 37 and 38 for thereception of studs 38 and 41. These studs are integrally connected witha bushing 42 having a central opening 43 therein of slightly greatersize than the diameter of shaft 14. Coil springs 44 and 45 are locatedwithin bores 46 and 47 provided within plate 33 and bear against bushing42as shown in FIG. I. Set screws 48 and 49 are located within bores 46and 47 for adjusting the tension in coil springs 44 and 45.

A sleeve 51 surrounds shaft 14 and has a central opening 52 of slightlygreater diameter than that of the shaft. This sleeve is connected tobushing 42 for relative rotation therewith by means ofa roller bearingunit 53. As seen in FIG. 1, this sleeve bears against adjacent supportring 18 and ring 21, a similar sleeve 54 bearing against rings 18 and 17at the opposite end of the plurality of support rings and guide ringslikewise being provided. This sleeve is connected to a bushing 55 bymeans of a roller bearing unit 53 for rotation with respect thereto, inan identical manner as that described for sleeve 51 and bushing 42. Anarm plate 56 identical to plate 33 is mounted on beam 32 in a similarmanner as by means of a bolt 57. Set screws 58 and 59 threadedly engagewithin suitably provided openings in arm 56 and bear against bushing 55.These screws therefore provide adjustable stops for bushing 55 abuttingagainst support rings 18 and the outer guide rings for shifting samerelative to rings 15 against the bias of coil springs 44 and 45.

Therefore, sleeve 54 may be moved axially along shaft 14 together withsleeve 51 as screws 58 and 59 are adjusted within their respectivebores. Support rings 18 and the outer guide'rings 21, 23 and 16, 17 aretherefore shifted along shaft 14 in an amount equal to the axialmovement of the sleeves. The outer rings shift at the mating sphericalsurfaces between them and the inner guide rings. The upper cuttingblades are therefore likewise shifted in relation to the lower bladeseach by the same amount so that the slope of each upper cutting blade onshaft 14 is uniform throughout.

From the foregoing it can be seen that a simple and economical yethighly effective cutting blade arrangement is provided wherein the upperblades are adjustable with respect to their cooperating lower blades inequal amounts so that uniformity of the slope of the upper cuttingblades is assured. The same quality cut is therefore maintained for eachslit along the web. Opposing screws 58, 59 and 48, 49 can be adjustedrelative to one another depending on the particular material of the webto be cut. Moreover, adjustment of the upper cutting blades relative tothe lower ones can be reset during operation of the web slittingapparatus.

Since blade shafts 10 and 14 need not be shiftably mounted in theapparatus, production cost of the web slitting apparatus may bedecreased when utilizing the present invention. Moreover, the lateralwalls of the apparatus are not weakened by slits, guides or othermountings for the blade shafts, thereby increasing the rigidity of themachine and effecting a quieter running machine and a better quality ofthe cuts.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention are madepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a web slitting apparatus, an arrangement for the uniform angularadjustment of upper circular cutting blades against their respectivelower cutting blades cooperating therewith,.for longitudinally cuttingwebs of paper. foil. and the like, including a rotatable shaft alongwhich a plurality of said upper blades are disposed adjacent oneanother, first rings surrounding said shaft, second rings surroundingrespective ones of said first rings and supporting said upper blades,the outer peripheral surfaces of said first rings and the innerperipheral surfaces of said second rings defining mating sphericalsurfaces, sleeves surrounding said shaft respectively bearing againstopposite ends of said second rings, and means for moving said sleevealong said shaft a predetermined amount, whereby each of said upperblades is likewise moved with respect to said shaft by substantially thesame amount as said second rings shift relative to said first ringsalong said mating spherical surfaces thereof, to thereby uniformlyadjust the angularity of said upper blades bearing against theircooperating lower blades.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said rings are eachmounted on said shaft for rotation therewith.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1, further including third ringssurrounding said second rings, said gitudinal axis of said shaft.

1. In a web slitting apparatus, an arrangement for the uniform angular adjustment of upper circular cutting blades against their respective lower cutting blades cooperating therewith, for longitudinally cutting webs of paper, foil, and the like, including a rotatable shaft along which a plurality of said upper blades are disposed adjacent one another, first rings surrounding said shaft, second rings surrounding respective ones of said first rings and supporting said upper blades, the outer peripheral surfaces of said first rings and the inner peripheral surfaces of said second rings defining mating spherical surfaces, sleeves surrounding said shaft respectively bearing against opposite ends of said second rings, and means for moving said sleeve along said shaft a predetermined amount, whereby each of said upper blades is likewise moved with respect to said shaft by substantially the same amount as said second rings shift relative to said first rings along said mating spherical surfaces thereof, to thereby uniformly adjust the angularity of said upper blades bearing against their cooperating lower blades.
 2. The arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said rings are each mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith.
 3. The arrangement according to claim 1, further including third rings surrounding said second rings, said second rings having circular outer peripheral surfaces, and said third rings having circular outer and inner peripheral surfaces, said third ring inner surfaces mating with said second ring outer surfaces.
 4. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said inner peripheral surfaces of said second rings are smaller in size as compared to the outer peripheral surfaces of said first rings.
 5. The arrangements according to claim 1 wherein said moving means include adjustment screws bearing against one of said sleeves and lying parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft. 